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Out lesbian, Marisa Demeo, a D.C. Superior Court nominee since March 24, 2009, has not won confirmation yet due to Chairman of the Senate Republican Steering Committee Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) block.
DeMint’s grandstanding and obstructing of Demeo’s nomination is in stark contrast to what he said in 2005, “One of my goals as a Senator is to confirm highly qualified judges by ensuring timely up-or-down votes for all nominees no matter who is President, no matter which party is in the majority. Senators were elected to advise and consent, not to grand stand or obstruct.”
The National Law Journal reports that objections from conservatives seem to be based on Demeo’s strong legal advocacy work on Hispanic and LGBT issues. “A number of Republicans had concerns and asked me, as chairman of Steering, to ask for a limited debate and a recorded vote because of a history of very leftist activism,” DeMint explained.
When asked for specific criticisms DeMint said “There are just a number of things that don’t look like a fair and balanced approach that you’d like in a judge.” He also added, “it’s a lot more” than Demeo’s work for MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund), but declined to elaborate.
DeMint also opposed Sonia Satomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
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